The Master of the Land
by Aleron's Sword
Summary: <html><head></head>It was supposed to be a normal hiking trip. Instead, I become something much more after a freak accident. Note: Will be continued on DA.</html>
1. Prologue

**OK, second story overall. Like my first one, A Being of Insect and Steel, this one has been buzzing around in my head for a while. And, like the other one, has been pestering me constantly as well.**

**This will be a form of a Trilogy, running alongside two others like this. The events of all three of them are intertwined, meaning all three will be starting, running, and ending at the same pace, although there will be a few time skips. At times, the stories will have a chapter that is happening at the same place and time as the other two.**

**Though there will be three separate stories, there will be three different OC's in each of them as the main characters.**

**OK, enough chatter, let's get this show on the road!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any major company brands. I only own my story and OC's.**

_**The Master of the Land**_

_**Prologue**_

San Francisco, California. USA.

6:37 pm. October 25, 2011

"Hey, Jake! Are you ready?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm ready. Just double-checking to make sure I got everything."

"Well hurry! We don't have all day. All of us have been waiting for months for this!"

"Alright alright, just be patient will ya?"

Jake, that's me. My real name is Jackson Hunter, but I got used to the shortened version. My friends and I have been preparing for a hiking trip for a while now. I seem to be the last one to be done with everything. It seems that no matter on how easy some things can be, I always finish last. Right now, I was making sure I had everything needed for the trip. Food, check. Water, check. Camping tent, check. Sleeping bag, check. Matches, check. Flare gun, check. Map, check. Radio, check. Batteries, check. That seems to be all that I need.

I picked up the hefty hiking bag and slung it onto my back. I then proceeded to walk outside to meet my friends. There were five of us, counting me as well. Starting from me, and working clockwise, there's me, David, Claire and Cole, and finally Steven. David is sort of the leader of our cheery little group, Claire and Cole are twins who practically share a brain, and Steven's the silent type of the group. We always travel together wherever we decide to go.

As I approached them, David turned his head and seen me.

"Hey! About time you can join us." He remarked. I just rolled my eyes at him for that line.

"Yeah, what took-"Claire started

"You so long?" Cole finished. Yeah, brain share moment there.

Putting that aside, we all walked towards Stevens truck. His parents practically spoil him, and as such, got him a Yukon for his nineteenth birthday, after getting his drivers license first of course. We all piled our hiking gear in the trunk, then proceeded to get a seat in the truck. David always calls shotgun, the front seat, the twins got the middle seats, which leaves me with the only back seat that's open.

I climbed to the back seat, keeping my head low to prevent it from hitting the roof, then turned around to sit down. Cole folded the middle seat back into place, forcing me to turn to the side for leg-room. I moaned inward as the angle I was at was very uncomfortable. I tried reaching for my pack's back pouch, only having to stretch the last few inches, and making myself even more uncomfortable than what I was. I was finally able to reach and unzip the pouch, reaching in and grabbing my GBA. Yeah, I brought it as well, so that I won't be as bored during the ride. I also brought my ear-phones so that my game doesn't disrupt anyone else.

After getting my gaming gear out, I switched it on and sat through the starting up. After that, I just started pressing the A button to skip through the game's cinematic intro. After going through that, the games title popped up: Pokemon Emerald. Yeah, you're probably thinking that I shouldn't play this due to it being a kids series. And that I should move onto the next generation of Pokemon. Two reasons I stay with it: 1) I'm like a lifetime fan to the series, and 2) I just think the Pokemon company's stretching the series a little far.

I mean, if you think about it, first gen had the legendary bird trio, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Second gen had the beast trio Entei, Riakou, and Suicune, along with the Guardian of the Sea, Lugia, the Seeker of Pure Hearts, Ho-oh, and the Time Traveler, Celebi. Third gen (my favorite) has the Master of the Land, Groudon, Master of the Sea, Kyogre, and Master of the Sky, Rayquaza. I only know of those three, the rest I don't know. I have yet to play one of the fourth generation games.

**A/N: Sorry if that was an infodump like in the first chapter of my first story.**

Groudon, even though he's a legendary, is probably my favorite out of the third generation. Even though I have seen the Anime showing it as tall as a skyscraper, it's actually nearly two-and-a-half times larger than a human, according to the Pokedex's entry for it. His body is mostly red, but it has lines going over its body that occasionally glow blue.

As I was playing the game, training my team on victory road, I felt something tugging at the back of my mind. I paused the game and looked around, trying to find out what it was. As I turned back around and looked at the screen, I could have sworn I saw something flash on the GBA's screen. 'Okay, fuu-reaky...' I thought. I continued playing my game, unaware that something was watching me, hiding in plain sight.

10:54 pm California Hiking Grounds.

Why we decided to come in the middle of the night I may never know. Maybe due to it being a bit more exciting during the hiking. However, it also means it's more dangerous, meaning injuries are more common. As we pulled up into the parking lot for the hiking lounge, I saved my game, switched it off, and put it back into its pouch. David leaped out of the front seat, spreading his arms and inhaling deeply.

"Ah, smell that fresh air! I can't wait until we get started." he said cheerily.

Me and the rest sweat dropped at his 'moment', mainly due to it being nearly pitch-black outside. After we all got out of the truck, we proceeded to grab our hiking gear out of the trunk. I was first to grab mine, due to me being last to get in before coming here. Claire and Cole got theirs next, followed by David then lastly Steven. As I swung my pack onto my back, that same feeling came back. I looked around, with the same results as before. I started to get an uneasy feeling in my stomach, part of me telling me to go home and leave this behind.

We headed to the hiking lounge to check into a room for the night. As David and Steven were handling the room key and Claire and Cole were making plans, I took a look at the gift shop in the corner of the building. I saw plenty of items for sale, some rubber balls, some balloons, even a few RC model cars. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a newspaper with the topic 'International Criminal Organization Taken Down!' as the headline. In the picture was what looked like a robot with a cannon on its back. Another person was with it, his hand on the robots shoulder. I ignored it and went back to the group. David and Steven were able to get us a room, and Claire and Cole just finished making the hiking plans for our stay. Apparently, we are hiking the 'Lava' Pass. It's named that due to the bright red rocks at the bottom of the canyon. And if the sun hits them just right, they take a lava-like appearance.

After we got to the cabin we were staying in the night, Steven unlocked the door and we stepped in. I made my way to the room at the end of the hall on the right, passing the archway to the kitchen. I opened the door and set my pack on the blue and green stripe-patterned bed blanket. I then plopped down on the bed, sleep overtaking me. Before my eyes closed completely, I thought that I saw something on one of the walls, but my mind was asleep before I could register it.

I found myself floating in an empty space, though it was glowing a soft red. I looked around, trying to find anything in this unknown place. I then felt that same feeling on the ride to the cabin coming back, but with another presence. Fear growing in me, I looked frantically around, trying desperately to find who, or what, else was here. I then felt as though I was free-falling. I looked towards what I thought was the ground, and saw lava, and I was falling straight towards it. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. As I was 'falling' I heard someone yell "JAKE! NOOO!". I noticed the voice belonged to Claire, who sounded like she was losing someone dear to her. I then looked back at the 'lava' and saw-something-poking out of it. I couldn't memorize it as I smacked into the lava.

I woke up with a start, cold sweat on my face. I looked at the clock on the night-stand. 6:58 am. I sighed, knowing that it would be another two hours until we leave for 'Lava' Pass. I wiped the cold sweat off of my face, then pulled myself out of the bed. I walked over to my pack, which fell to the floor overnight, and opened the main part of the pack. Reaching in, I pulled out a camouflage t-shirt, along with orange jeans. I took off my sleepwear and put the hiking clothes on. I was making the bed as the door to my room opened. I turned as my eyes met with sky-blue irises. Claire.

Claire proceeded to sit on the remade bed, and locked her eyes with mine, hers had a hint of worry. She then tilted her head downwards, giving the impression she was sad about something. I sat down next to her, putting my hand on her shoulder. This seemed to calm her down a bit, for she eased up and laid her head on my shoulder.

"So," I said, breaking the silence, "what's got you spooked?"

She looked up and stared into my eyes, hers close to tears for some reason. She sniffed, then let a tear fall onto my shoulder. Whatever it was that's bugging her, its got her frightened.

"I...I had...a dream..." she finally said, close to crying.

I raised an eyebrow to her answer, skeptical on how a simple dream could upset her. "A dream?" was what came out shortly after. "A dream about what?"

She sniffed again, letting another tear fall, "About...about you..." she managed to say with sadness.

Again, I raised an eyebrow to her second answer. "About me? What was it about that I was involved in?" I asked with a bit of confusion.

"It...it...was when we were...on a bridge. Me...and several other people were on the other end...We were waiting for you to cross. You were about halfway over when...wh-when..." Claire stopped when she was choking up on tears.

She took a deep breath, swallowed, then finished, "when...the bridges ropes...snapped." she said the last word with a bit of a squeak. More tears streamed down her face after finishing the sentence.

"Oh man." I whispered. I pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her. I tried to comfort her even more, "Hey, hey, it's okay. Just remember that that was just a dream. Anything that happens in dreams never happen in real life." She seemed to calm down, because she stopped sniffling as much, and less tears fell from her. She pulled out of the hug, with a smile on her face.

"Thanks Jake...I..." she said, sniffing once more. "I needed that. I'm sorry that I bothered you...about that dream."

She got up from the bed and walked towards the door to leave the room. She turned to look at me, with a smile on her face, then walked out, closing the door lightly. I just sat there, trying to find some kind of connection between both of our dreams. There was just no way both of us could have had the same kind of dream. I shrugged it off and looked at the clock. 7:31. I got up off of the bed and proceeded to go to the kitchen of the cabin. I walked down the hall and turned into the archway leading to the kitchen. David was already in it, with two pans on the stove, one making a half-dozen strips of bacon, the other with six eggs worth of yolk in it. The coffee maker was brewing-what else?-coffee as well.

Cole came in shortly after I did, bags under his eyes. He stood by the coffee maker, pretty much staring daggers at the device. He was eying the light on the maker, waiting for the light to go off. He stood there, unblinking, unmoving, waiting for the coffee to be done. No sooner than when the light turned off he snatched the jug off of the maker, snagged a cup from the cabinet, poured coffee into said cup, then went to sit down on the table. Both me and David just stared at him, confused at what he did. David resumed cooking, flipping the bacon and the eggs, being careful with the latter.

Claire came in a few minutes after Cole's 'coffee theft', wide awake due to being with me earlier. She breathed in the scent of the food, smiled to herself, then went to get a plate of breakfast. After getting her food, she went to sit down next to Cole, who was sipping the coffee quietly. Steven walked in rather quickly, probably excited about the hiking trip in the next hour. He snatched up a few strips of bacon from the plate they rested on and a bit of eggs. He fished a fork from the silverware drawer, then sat down next to Cole. He got up a few seconds after and got a cup from the cabinet.

After David got the last piece of bacon and eggs finished, he got himself some and a cup as well along with a fork. I followed suit with the same things as well, minus the cup. I sat down next to Claire while David sat next to Steven. We all ate our breakfast without saying a word. After the last bit of egg and bacon was swallowed did David break the silence.

"Alright men...and lady." he said, addressing us like a drill Sargent. Me and Claire chuckled to ourselves while Steven rolled his eyes. Cole just tuned him out while drinking his coffee. "Today, we shall trek the uncharted territory of Lava Pass. Some of you may not come home, but when you do, you shall have the honors of calling yourselves 'True Hikers'. DISMISSED!" he finished while yelling the last part, causing Cole to spit-take some of his coffee from surprise. Me, Steven and Claire just burst out laughing while Cole's cheeks were a bright red from embarrassment. David was on the business end of the flying coffee, causing all of us to burst out laughing, all except David, who had an annoyed look on his face.

8:45 am: Outside of the cabin.

After the fiasco with the coffee, we got ready for the hike, packs on our backs, map in Cole's hand, and radios attached to our shirt collars. Walking away from the cabin, we started our trek to Lava Pass, passing a few late-night hikers along the way. After fifteen minutes of hiking, we came across a sign post, pointing in three different directions. The one facing us is pointing back towards the lodge, the one on the left was pointing west-northwest, on it says 'Jagged Ravine'. The North-Northeastern one had 'Lava Pass' on it, our hiking path.

11:09 am: Lava Pass Resting Point.

We have arrived at the resting point at the ¼ mark of the pass. During the trip, we found several 'lava rocks' that were warm to the touch, spotted an eagles nest, and even a few fox cubs. Claire just couldn't resist them. Cole, with Claire, were looking at the map for the next part of the trip, while Steven was having a snack break. Next, we have to cross a rope bridge towards the next rest point, something Claire was feeling uneasy about. The dream must still be bothering her.

11:46 am: Lava Pass Rope Bridge.

We have come to the rope bridge, Claire looks like she's close to panicking due to the bridge bearing a close resemblance to the one in her dream. "Claire, look," I started to reassure her, "what you seen in your dream isn't real. The more you dwell on it, the worse it gets. Just ignore it and it will go away." Claire calmed down greatly from that, enough to where she put on a confident look on her face.

David was the first to go, being the oh so fearless leader he is. He even held his chin high while crossing, but I can tell he was close to pissing himself. After he made it across, Steven walked across the bridge, keeping calm all the way. Cole and Claire were next, always tackling everything together. Claire was shaking like crazy, for she has vertigo, fear of heights. Cole was holding one of his hands onto Claire while the other was on the rope holding up the bridge. After they made it past the chasm, it was my turn to go.

I looked over the edge on the bridge and let me tell you: looking down a chasm while 500 some odd feet in the air does NOT leave a positive feeling in you. I took a deep breath and set foot on the bridge. The first plank moaned under my weight, making me cringe a little. I relaxed a little and took the second one, same results. I then tried to ignore the creaking of the wood, and focus on getting to the end. However, around a third of the way, that very same presence was back, nicking me in the back of my mind. I put a hand to my head to try and tune it out, but that feeling just kept getting stronger. I was so focused on it that I didn't hear my friends yelling for me, or some of the ropes were splitting.

I did not notice what was happening until Claire screamed at the top of her lungs, "JAKE! NOOO!" When I heard that, the ropes snapped, putting me into a free-fall. It was just like the dream that both of us had; she witnessed the bridge collapsing, and I witnessed my demise. Then, time seemed to slow down, but I was still going quite fast. I looked at the bottom of the chasm, and sure enough, there was the lava. All evidence of the 'lava rocks' gone and replaced with real lava. Then, my life flashed before me.

Me opening my eyes for the first time in my life, seeing Mom and Dad.

My first word, puppy, after seeing a young Labrador.

My fourth birthday party, where I met David.

Third grade, where I met Steven.

My first pet, a Yorkie, named Isabella.

Fifth grade, where I met Claire and Cole.

My Grandfathers funeral at age thirteen.

My Grandmothers funeral at age fifteen.

Me and my friends' first group adventure, exploring the forest around home.

Eighth grade, where my friends saved me from robbers.

Graduation.

The planned hiking trip.

Calming Claire down from her nightmare.

The Bridge.

And now: the fall to my demise.

The lava was less than fifty feet from me, but strangely though, I felt no heat from it. If it's not the 'lava' that will kill me, the impact certainly will.

40 ft: I'm sorry...

30 ft: ...Claire...Cole...

20 ft: ...David...

10 ft: ...Steven...

Impact: …...

"JAAAAAAAKE!"

**Heh, how's that for a cliffhanger? Personally, I have to admit, I was quite saddened when writing the part with Jake and Claire. Writers block hit me hard on not only that part, but also the life flashes as well. I will try to update not only this, but A Being of Insect and Steel as well as often as I can manage.**


	2. A New Role, A New Life

**Okay, second chapter of The Master of the Land. I know that I left a MASSIVE cliffhanger on the last chapter, but this one will tell what happens to Jake after he hits the lava. All shall be explained (sort of) in this chapter.**

**Review time!**

**ELMO-fAN cLUB MeMbER: Yeah, that was my thought as well. How many ideas does the company have left?**

**Cyberfire22: Same as above and you just nabbed the plot-line for the next few chapters...=/.**

**Ryu Dragonclaw: Just read and find out ;).**

**And reviews from the preview.**

**Daimao S: 1. Can't exactly help it. 2. Uh…what?**

**Tanon: I was finally able to work around it, along with Nano.**

**StitchedPanther: Glad you like it.**

**Cyberfire22: I'll accept any help to try and get the gears for my stories moving. Like you said, send a sample of your work via PM and I'll consider it.**

**Ryu Dragonclaw: Just read and find out.**

"Hello" means speech.

_'Hello' _means thoughts.

**Okay, lets get started.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any major company brands. I own only the story and my OC's.**

_**The Master of the Land**_

_**Chapter 1: A New Role, A New Life**_

The lava...it didn't...melt...me. I feel...at peace...in it. It just feels...like a warm bath. And yet...I can still...breath...despite being here.

Am I dead...?

_No, you are not._

Huh...? Who's there?

_...Your guardian..._

Guardian...?

_You...have a duty...to protect the Earth from destruction._

Duty...? To...protect Earth?

_Yes. However, you will need a new form for the trials ahead. Your human form would not stand to the danger that is to come._

Wait, what about my friends? What will happen to them? And what about a new form?

_Do not worry, nothing will happen to them. Yes, your appearance will change drastically, but it is necessary for the greater good of the world._

But...will I ever see them again...?

…_Yes...you will be able to see them...again...Now sleep, your transformation will begin, and your duty will start soon..._

-0-

Lava Pass Rope Bridge.

**Third Person POV:**

A trio of teens were trying, with difficulty, to restrain a fourth. They all just witnessed the fifth member of their group fall into the chasm, plummeting to his death. The one being restrained was screaming like a banshee out of hell, tears streaming down her face, kicking the others and demanding to be let go.

"LET ME GO! I HAVE TO SAVE JAKE! JUST. LET. ME. GOOO!" she demanded, fighting with all her might to break the others grips. She was turning red in the face, and, due to her struggling and crying so much, breathing hard. After around half a minute of this, the others were able to restrain her. One with a few missing teeth, another with cuts and minor bruises, and the third with a few more bruises. The one with the cuts held the girl with his hands, staring daggers at the girl as tears continued to stream down her face.

"Listen Claire," he hissed "there was nothing we could do to save him. I'm...I'm sorry. If there was any other way, I should have stuck with him..." he managed to finish, close to tears himself. Another of the group looked over the edge, where the bridge was, down into the canyon. He was wondering on how the bridge fell apart, even though it was inspected every week. The last one was on the ground, horror-struck on the events that took place. He shook his head, trying to snap out of it, but to no avail.

A different person came running down the path they were on, coming to see what the yelling was about. He was dressed in a hiking administrator outfit, along with a baseball cap with an emblem of the hiking lodge in the center. He also had a pistol in its holster, kept only for self-defense. Wrapped around his belt are flares for signaling rescue squads at night.

After he got to the group, he was about to ask what happened, but the groups expressions and the collapsed bridge explained enough for him. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said, feeling sorry for them, "but come with me. I'll escort you all to the next rest point." the ranger offered. Claire, along with Cole, got up and went to David, who was still down on the ground. They lifted him up by the forearms and swung an arm of his around their shoulders. Steven, who was by the edge of the bridge, stepped away to join the rest of the group.

-0-

Unknown Location (**A/N: Cliche****, I know...**)

**Jake's POV: **

_'Ugh...'_

_'What happened...?'_

_'...Where am I...?'_

All these thoughts swam through my head, all looking for-but not finding-answers. I tried to think back on what happened earlier, but I got nothing. I tried again...nope, nothing at all. I opened my eyes, only to be met with near darkness. There are torches in the room, giving at least a little bit of light. I tried to get up, but it felt like as though there was some kind of weight on me. I tried again, using both my arms to get up and on my feet. I managed to, but noticed that I felt a little...hunched-backed. Not only that, but I felt something weighing me down from behind.

Taking a step forward, I nearly tripped over something. I turned around and did a double take. I...I have a tail...a tail? Okay, now I need to see what's up with me. Running (or trying to do so without tripping the whole time) towards one of the walls with a torch, I was able to get enough light on me to see what happened. I almost wanted to scream. Almost.

My 'skin' was no longer flesh. Instead, it was bright red, like rubies, with black lines running through it. One side of it was the red, while the other, along with my 'underbelly' which was a dark gray color. I looked at my hands to find that I no longer had five fingers. In fact, I didn't have any fingers! Instead I had four claws on each hand, which had grown to about the thickness of my arms at my shoulders. My entire arm was thick as this, and I found three spikes protruding from each arm, with the center ones at about my elbows. I looked down at my new legs, to find that they had also swollen to be the same large thickness all the way down to my toes. Or at least what used to be my toes. Now I had four claws there as well, not to mention spikes in about the same positions as on my arms. I reached up to scratch my neck and found that my head had two spikes protruding from either side of my head, and three more from below where my ears should be. In place of ears, I seemed to have two flaps of, skin, or something, hanging from my head. My teeth had grown extremely sharp, and I could no longer close my mouth fully. I decided to look at the tail that I had grown and found that it was about as wide as my body, and almost as long. It also had four spikes coming out of either side. The tail ended in sort of frill, instead of tapering off to a point.

Panic set in as I tried to figure out what happened to me. I looked back to my hand, shaking slightly.

"No…" I barely said. I raised my other hand as well, shaking even more. My fear suddenly turned into rage, angry at whatever turned me into this.

"NOOO!" yelling at the top of my lungs, I brought my arms slamming down into the ground. The ground shook violently upon the impact, but I didn't care about what happened.

Lava Pass Path

**Third Person POV:**

Claire, Cole, David and Steven, along with a park ranger, slowly walked down the path. They were all still mourning over the loss of Jake. Claire had her head resting on her sibling's shoulder, who was trying to comfort her. Steven was silently walking next to David, who was silent as well. The ranger was the only one who was doing something while walking. He was talking into the radio, trying to find out who sabotaged the bridge the day after inspection and rope-replacement. From the last marker they passed, which would mark at least half a mile each, they were at least half of a mile away from the next resting point. Steven was starting to get thirsty from the hiking and reached into his pack. He was able to fish out his canteen and was about to take a swig of it when the ground started to shake violently. Dropping the canteen in surprise and, along with everyone else, falling to the ground, he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"EARTHQUAKE! DUCK AND COVER!" He straightened himself out onto his stomach, hands covering his head.

Just as quickly as the quake came, it subsided. Everyone was picking themselves up, dusting each other off and wondering on the strange quake. Steven reached over and picked his canteen back up, which fortunately still had some water in it. Cole was holding Claire, who was now shaking like crazy.

"Everyone alright?" the ranger called out. Everyone gave an okay, causing the man to relax.

Claire looked up past her brothers shoulder and looked out towards the bridge, her eyes full of sadness.

'_Jake…If only I stayed with you, this never would've happened._'

She wiped the tears from her face and continued to follow the group to the resting point.

-0-

**Thank. God. This chapter is finally done. I am so sorry about how long it took to update this. Thank Nanocarp for being able to help get this story moving again.**


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